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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27418840">Just because you can</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarinaCrustacean/pseuds/MarinaCrustacean'>MarinaCrustacean</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Jolene - Dolly Parton (Song)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Cheating, College, F/F, Hanging Out, I lifted some direct quotes from it, Implied/referenced boyfriend, Silly, the original song is very gay</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 23:22:28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,617</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27418840</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarinaCrustacean/pseuds/MarinaCrustacean</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Dorothy goes over to Jolene's place to discuss something important, and things don't go exactly as expected.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jolene/Narrator (Jolene)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Just because you can</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I’m sitting on the small couch in the living room of Jolene’s apartment, staring at the TV mounted on the wall. On the screen, Metroid character Samus Aran does a victory pose, while Zelda from the Legend of Zelda claps respectfully in the corner. Much like every other area of my life, Jolene is better than me at Smash Bros.</p><p>	Originally I was just here to have a talk with her, but it’s been seven hours and I still haven’t worked up the courage. Instead, we’ve listened to music, eaten a pizza, played an assortment of games – along with my embarrassing 10-0 in smash today, I’ve also been defeated at Twilight Struggle, and lost 40 dollars in poker – and gotten slightly high to watch funny Youtube videos. Once she comes back with snacks, we’re supposed to start a horror movie marathon. But I can’t put this off forever. Every time I hear her laugh like summer rain, or see her brush a flaming lock of auburn hair behind her ear, I feel a pang in my chest, and I know I have to say something.</p><p>	As I listen to the looping smash music and the sound of popcorn in the microwave, I let my gaze wander around the room, in an attempt to distract myself from the conversation looming in my mind. It doesn’t work. Between succulents hanging in the windows and posters for bands I’ve never heard of, the walls are spaced with Jolene’s artwork. Printed, framed photographs of telephone wires and vibrant paintings of abstract forms; they are all so beautiful, and I can see in my head her slender fingers framing each shot or guiding each brushstroke. Those hands, that skin… who could resist her?</p><p>	By the time Jolene comes back to the living room with a large bowl of popcorn in one hand and a 2-Liter of soda in the other, I’m already on the verge of tears. She gives me a quick smile, like a breath of spring, and my stomach flops. “Hey, sorry to keep you waiting. So I was thinking we could start with The Shining, and then move onto-”<br/>
I suck in a lungful of air. “Jolene, we need to talk.”</p><p>She pauses, smile faltering, and something unreadable flickers across those emerald green eyes.<br/>
“Okay.” she sets down the snacks and turns off the TV, before sitting down across from me on the couch. “Okay, let’s talk. What’s on your mind?”<br/>
The evening light through the window catches in her hair, forming a halo of pinks and oranges around her head, and my throat catches.<br/>
“Jolene.” my vision is getting blurry. “Jolene, Jolene...” I sob, reaching out to take her hand with both of mine. Her skin is soft and warm. “Jolene, please don’t take my man!”</p><p>There’s silence for a few seconds. I can feel her shift uncomfortably.<br/>
“...What?” She draws her hand back. “Dorothy, what are you talking about?”<br/>
I blink. “You know, you and Greg, I thought there was something going on between the two of you.” The words feel kind of silly as I say them, but it’s too late to stop. “He talks about you all the time, Jolene. One time-” I sob. “One time he even whispered your name in his sleep! I was so sure that he was… with you...” my words trail off, and I glance at Jolene, her face, her soft, full lips, her jawline like a razorblade, her- </p><p>“um, sorry, could you back up for a second?” her brows furrow in confusion. “who the fuck is Greg?”<br/>
Now I’m sure I look equally mystified. “Greg? My boyfriend? You’ve met us together a bunch of times.”<br/>
Jolene still looks completely lost.<br/>
“Studying at the library? Hanging out at the campus cafe? You talked with him for a while at the Halloween party?”<br/>
Finally, a glimmer of recognition. “Oh, Greg.” She laughs. “He’s – well, you could say he’s not really my type.” </p><p>As Jolene says this, she locks eyes with me, and my heart thumps. Looking away, I give a weak laugh. “I guess I was kinda worked up about nothing.” Jolene doesn’t respond, but a few moments later she scoots closer to me on the cushions, and I lean into her side. “Thanks for being a good friend, Jolene.” I take a breath. “Sorry I bothered you about this.”<br/>
“Don’t worry about it,” she says, “I’m glad I could clear your mind a little.”<br/>
We settle into silence for a few minutes. At some point, Jolene puts her arm around me, and I rest my hand on her thigh, but other than that we stay quiet. It’s comfortable for a little while, but soon I notice an odd tension in the air that I can’t quite place. It doesn’t help that I can feel Jolene’s pulse against me. </p><p>Eventually Jolene breaks the silence. “Can I ask you a question?” She turns towards me, and our faces are inches apart. “Um, sure.”<br/>
“Why did you come to me about this? I mean, if your boyfriend is making googly eyes at me or whatever, why not talk to him about it?”<br/>
“I-” why did I come to Jolene? </p><p>My mind is blank. Jolene’s looking right at me, and her eyes are so intense, it’s hard to focus on anything else. I scramble for an explanation. “I guess I can’t blame him, you know?” Jolene tilts her head slightly, and the dim light left in the room traces the contour of her neck. “Like, who wouldn’t want you?” my voice sounds shaky, far away. “Have you seen yourself in a mirror, Jolene? You-” my voice breaks. Oh, Jolene! Perfect, beautiful Jolene. Jolene, whose pink lips are parted ever so slightly. Jolene, who’s leaning ever so slightly over me. “And when...” I’ve completely forgotten what I was trying to say, but I keep saying it anyway. “And when I heard him talking about you-”</p><p>“Dorothy.” Suddenly her voice is darker, huskier somehow. She slides a hand along my jaw. “We don’t have to talk about your fucking boyfriend.”<br/>
“what do you m-mmf!” Her lips are pressing against mine, just as soft as I’d imagined they might be. I gasp against her mouth. Without breaking the kiss, Jolene shifts her body on the couch so she’s sitting in my lap, her weight pushing me into the cushions. My heart’s racing, I can barely believe what’s happening. Jolene is kissing me, kissing me! Acting on instinct, I slide my tongue along her bottom lip, and bring my hands up behind Jolene to tangle in her hair. Jolene sighs and presses the front of her body flush against mine. </p><p>After a few seconds, Jolene reluctantly leans back, an auburn lock brushing my cheek as she does so. Her face looks flushed, like the beginning of a sunset, and her eyelashes, elegantly curved, frame her lidded eyes. “I’m sorry I cut you off back there,” she says, the corner of her mouth quirking up.<br/>
“I’m not,” I say, breathy, and I pull her back against me. Our mouths come together again, and this time our tongues meet too, twisting against each other. Heat rises in my neck, my palms tingle. I run my hands down Jolene’s back, and then bring them back up under her shirt, letting them come to rest on her waist. Her skin is hot, so hot, almost burning, and I wonder if she feels it too. My silent question is answered when Jolene pulls away, dragging my lower lip out with her teeth for a brief moment before letting it go, after which she pulls her shirt off in one smooth motion.</p><p>	My phone chooses that moment to buzz loudly. I groan, pulling it out of my pocket, and then my heart plops into my stomach.<br/>
“Is that…” Jolene doesn’t need to finish her question. “Yeah.”<br/>
I start to feel sick. I had gotten so caught up in Jolene, in finally getting to kiss her, that I had completely forgotten why any of this had happened in the first place. And that’s another thing, ‘finally’? How long had I yearned to do this, and just been too oblivious to my own feelings to realize it?</p><p>	The light brush of knuckles against my cheek snaps me back to the present. It’s Jolene, of course. Her eyes meet mine, and the expression in them is so kind, so warm, that my anxieties start to melt away once more. “Hey,” she says, giving me a slight smile, “you can worry about that later. Okay?”<br/>
“Okay,” I say, and fold into her arms. Slowly, she pulls us over until we’re lying together across the cushions, Jolene still slightly on top of me. She plays languidly with my hair, and I trace the tips of my fingers over her back. The smell of her shampoo hangs around me, and, for a few minutes, I feel calm.</p><p>	Eventually it fades back into my awareness that Jolene still isn’t wearing a shirt, and I start to feel less calm. My touches grow a little heavier, and Jolene sits up slightly, smirking at me with those stunning lips of hers. Then we’re kissing again, but this time Jolene is above me, surrounding me. I’m getting lost in her.  “Jolene...” I whisper, the next time we break apart, both of us panting slightly. “Yeah?” she smiles.<br/>
I smile back. “Nothing. I just wanted to say your name.”<br/>
“Well,” she breathes, leaning in so close that her lips are almost touching the shell of my ear, “Let’s find you a reason to say it some more.” Then she brings her mouth to my neck, and I shiver.<br/>
</p><p>Oh, Jolene, Jolene! I love you, Jolene.</p>
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